Iit Economics Professor Frank Spencer, 91

Frank G. Spencer, 91, a retired Illinois Institute of Technology economics and history professor, wrote poetry and became active in the peace movement after he retired.

A memorial service for Mr. Spencer, who moved to Palo Alto, Calif., in 1967, was held Sunday in the Palo Alto Unitarian Church. He died Dec. 26 in a Flagstaff, Ariz., hospital.

Mr. Spencer spent the first 72 years of his life in the Chicago area, where he graduated from Lewis Institute and from the University of Chicago. He taught economics and history at several junior colleges in the Chicago area and at IIT.

``He was respected and well liked as a teacher,`` said his daughter, Maeva Hopcraft. ``I met many of his former students over the years. Inevitably, they would say, `So, you`re Frank Spencer`s daughter. He was the best teacher I ever had.` ``

After moving to Palo Alto, Mr. Spencer wrote two books of poetry, ``Poems for the Aged by One of Them`` and ``More Poems.`` He wrote several books, including ``Generals Are Dumb`` and ``The Heretics Bible.`` He composed two anthems, three hymns and a carol, ``At Christmas Time, 1985.``